TIPS FOR HAPPY COBBERS

Cobbing
is most fun when done with others! Having regular weekend cob house-raising,
potluck parties is a great way to get to know your neighbors, and a fun way
to play with your friends and get your house built.

It is important for your health to drink plenty of water while you're
cobbing. Because it doesn't seem like hard work, it's easy to get dehydrated.
Encourage cobbers to drink by having inviting drinking water easily accessible
on the site. Remind each other to drink.

Do like the English do and have morning and afternoon tea on the site.
A little rest and a snack help keep cobbers keen.

Take time to be artistic. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to
use all your amazing imagination and creativity. You can bury magic things in
the walls. Make up rituals. Allow sacredness and beauty in your life.

Cob walls preserve things that are buried in them very well. It's fun to bury
a time capsule, a bottle full of things that are likely to last a few centuries
(coins, computer disks, ceramic, plastic). This will tell a story about our
time in history. An archaeologist hundreds of years from now will have some
clues about you, the mysterious modern/ ancient builder.

Singing, drumming, and cobbing go together perfectly. Work goes faster
and tiredness disappears! People can reach states of total ecstasy combining
these three things. Remember to enjoy yourself and your cobbing friends!

It's fun to have a special photo album / journal of the building process.
This can be combined with a guest book, or have a separate book for co-creators
and visitors to sign and make comments in.

If you want to cob when it's too cold for your fingers, wear those
cloth gloves whose fingers have been dipped in green rubbery stuff. You can
wear thinsulite liners under them for extra warmth. If you need to wear shoes,
the less tread the better, because the mud won't stick to them so much.

The cob builders checklist

On the following page is the check list. Read over it to get ideas. This is
to help you remember what to add to the walls as you build. I recommend that
you enlarge, photocopy and laminate the checklist. Hang it up at the building
site so it's easy for you to check it often as your home grows.